Today was Supposed to be a Good Day
by FairyHearts
Summary: Nico is having a great day. She doesn't know really know why, but she can tell it's going to be awesome. Of course, until Maki freaks out at her after practice. Confused, Nico is told by Hanayo and Rin that there's a new girl in Otonokizaka Academy, and Maki Nishikino has one big crush on her. And for some reason, this bothers Nico. A lot. Now at 1500 views! Thanks so much guys!
1. Chapter 1

Today was a good day.

Nico happily walked down the halls, a slight skip in her step. For some reason, she had the best sleep of her night last night, and accepted it as a blessing from the gods themselves. Now she felt like today was going to be the best day of her life.

She did get a few stares from curious eyes every here and there, but she didn't mind. They just hadn't experienced what she's experiencing. And when they do, they'll understand.

Well, that's what Nico rationalized it to be as she swiftly entered her classroom with glee. Her eyes scanned the classroom until she quickly found her targets, Nozomi and Eli, talking to each other.

"Good morning!" Nico said happily, cutting into and ending whatever conversation Nozomi and Eli were having.

"Ah, good morning Nico, you seem cheery." Eli replied to the sudden intrusion, a warm smile on her face as Nozomi chimed along.

"Yes Nicocchi, I'll have to agree. What's got you so happy?" Nozomi added, to which Nico just shrugged.

"I don't know, can't a girl just be happy?" Nico asked. Eli just shook her head.

"Whatever." The three then settled off into a casual chat for a few minutes before class started.

Practice came by pretty soon and before Nico knew it she was already practicing the steps to some new routine. Everything was going well, especially since that she was already feeling amazing, but something was… off.

About a certain someone,

Maki seemed very distracted. She was always a couple beats behind, more missed a few steps, and sometimes ended up crashing into people.

"Maki," Umi called out, causing everyone to stop practicing. "What's got you so out of it?" She asked questioningly, clearly a little annoyed that the practice was disrupted.

Nico watched as Maki's face colored a dark shade of red, anxiously twiddling her thumbs in embarrassment of being caught, Nico assumed.

"S-sorry, just a little distracted. It won't happen again." Maki admitted automatically, sounding a little rehearsed.

Umi nodded, still a little unsure, but Nico could tell she just wanted to get back to practice already.

"T-that practice was a little tough, don't you think?" Nico heard Hanayo ask her best friend, Rin.

"Yeah, Umi was a little harder on us than usual nya." Rin agreed, wiping beads of sweat off her forehead. _Yeah I agree,_ Nico thought to herself as she rid herself as of her own sweat, following Rin's example.

But she couldn't seem to keep her gaze off of Maki. The girl had snapped back into it after Umi given Maki a quick talking to it, but she seemed to be falling back out of motion as she packed up her belongings.

Intrigued, Nico approached the girl, a smirk on her face.

"What's gotten you so frazzled, Maki? Are you distracted by my amazing charm? It does tend to captivate all those near me!" Nico then struck a dramatic pose to emphasize her point.

She stayed in her pose for a few moments, waiting for some snarky remark or just an annoyed voice, but she didn't hear anything. Maki had just ignored her.

"Eh…? I guess you just didn't hear me, so I'll repeat what I said." Nico decided. "What's gotten you so frazzled, Maki? Are you distracted by my amazing charm? It does tend to captivate all those near me!"

Dramatic pose.

No response.

 _What the hell?_

Before Nico knew it, Maki was already leaving the roof.

"Maki, what's with you?" Nico yelled after the girl, grabbing her wrist too stop her from moving.

"Eeeh?" Maki seemed startled, and stopped dead in her tracks. She turned to face Nico, who was feeling pretty pissed off.

"What's up with you ignoring me?" Nico asked, tapping her foot on the roof floor impatiently. It seemed like everybody had left, except for Rin and Hanayo who were watching the scene.

"Huh? I didn't ignore you!" Maki replied in annoyance, trying to break free from Nico's iron grip. But it wasn't iron for nothing.

"Uh, yeah you did. I would know I was the one being ignored!" Nico said, raising her voice slightly. "What's got you so distracted anyways? Is it like a crush or something?" Nico hadn't meant the last part seriously, but it had seemed to spark something.

Maki's face went red instantly, sort of like earlier when Umi had called her out, but this time it was even a darker shade. This caught Nico off guard, and Maki used the opportunity to swipe her hand out of Nico's grip.

"Just shut up Nico!" She yelled, stomping away from the scene, muttering things under her breath as she went. Nico just stood there with a dazed expression, eyebrow twitching everyone once in a while.

"What…" Was all Nico could say as Maki soon vanished from her vison.

Suddenly she felt a hand on her shoulder.

"It's alright Nico; Maki's been like this all day nya." Rin explained, an understanding written all over her face. "I barely could talk to her without her face going red." Nico felt a little bit better that people were sharing in her confusions.

"Yeah, what's up with her anyways?" Nico asked curiously, remembering how fast and how extreme Maki's anger was.

"Were a-assuming that she had a crush on somebody, and what just happened clarifies that." Hanayo said thoughtfully.

The thought that Maki had a crush on somebody actually made Nico feel a little… weird. She couldn't really describe the feeling, it just felt off-putting, and it actually made here a feel angry. But why should Nico care about who Maki has a crush on?

Nico turned to the pair, an intrigued look on her face. "Who do you think it is?" Rin merely shrugged in response, but Hanayo seemed to be deep in thought.

Rin and Nico exchanged looks as Hanayo was still thinking, but suddenly they could hear a clap coming from Hanayo's direction.

"Eureka." She said loudly, grabbing Nico and Rin's attention. When she realized how loud she was, she blushed in embarrassment. "Oh ho-ho-ho, s-sorry about t-that." She giggled awkwardly.

"Whatever, what did you figure out?" Nico asked, startling poor Hanayo.

"Yeah nya, what is it?" Rin continued.

"U-um… Well. Rin, as you know that this morning a new student transferred into our class." Rin nodded, Nico saw that she was remembering the moment.

"Wait, a student transferred here now of all times? I thought we weren't even accepting students for next year…" Nico commented puzzled, in which Hanayo just shrugged in return.

"Well, she had approached M-Maki as the beginning of c-class, and you know Maki, she had been a little cold to the girl. But the girl c-continued talking to her, and they even ended up s-striking up a conversation." Hanayo explained, and Nico could tell Rin was remembering as she made sounds of "Oh," and "Aw," and "Oh yeah I remember that," repeatedly. "So we talked to Maki at lunch time, and asked about the girl, and she just blushed a-and avoided the subject." Hanayo finally finished, and Nico was feeling even more put off than before.

"Seemed a little suspicious nya!" added Rin, who nodded her head triumphantly as if she had made a new discovery.

"So, what are you saying exactly?" Nico asked dumbly. She knew exactly what was going on; she just didn't seem to want to come to terms with it.

"I think that Maki has a crush on the new girl."

Nico's happy day was ruined at this very moment.

 **AN: Poor freaking Nico. Hate the new girl already and I haven't even finalized her character yet :/**

 **Don't worry, it's not going to be one of those cliches where the girl is super perfect on the outside but actually rotten on the inside. No, it's gonna be even more clicher, if that's a word.**

 **I just know I personally am gonna hate the shit out of her. It's kind of like when authors insert those super fucking over powered characters into stories who everybody loves. I usually hate those stories, but there was one story I read that was so fucking bad that it was amazing.**

 **Anyways, I really hope you liked the chapter. Don't worry, they will be a lot longer then this chapter, this was more of an introduction. I won't be using any curses in the story so this is open to all, well besides hell and maybe damn sometimes. I'll probably change the rating later. I dunno!**

 **So if you did like it, please drop by a follow so you can get updates on it. If you loved it (somehow), a favorite would be well appreciated (like a lot). Oh yeah, and comment a lot. This is my first story im publishing here so feedback is absolutely critical. Tell me if my writing sucks, tell me if it's average, tell me if it's slightly above average. Though constructive criticism would be nice, just criticism isn't very nice :( lol.**

 **If you'd like to get to know a little more about me, check out my character Bio! It's cool and shit.**

 **Anyways, I hope you all have a great day!**

 **FairyHearts**


	2. Chapter 2

Nico had an awful sleep.

She fell asleep really late, and woke up super early; a dynamic combination that could destroy ones entire being; at least that was how Nico saw it.

Not wanting to dwell on the past, Nico quickly prepared for school.

Oh who was she kidding, she was still dwelling on the past.

" _ **I think that Maki has a crush on the new girl."**_ _Ha-ha, please. Maki hates everybody, she practically hates life._ It's true, Nico was in denial.

But why was this bothering her so much? It was really starting to make her mad, and her emotions were already running high, making for another colossal combo.

Taking a few deep breaths, Nico started her day.

When she arrived at school, there was no skip in her step. She wasn't filled with glee as she entered the building, nobody even eyed her warily. It was like yesterday never really happened.

Well, yesterday morning at least.

Nico began to zone out as she walked glumly down the halls of the high school, turning on auto-pilot as she attempted to recollect her thoughts. Maki was just a friend; actually, the girl was barely an acquaintance. The only reason Nico even _tolerated_ Maki was because they were both striving to be school idols; of course Maki was neither as gifted nor driven as Nico.

But this didn't seem to make her feel any better.

Then bam!

"What the hell?" Nico grunted as she felt a body ram into her own and she instantly fell to the ground, due to her small stature. Disgruntled, she groaned in a mixture of pain and annoyance as she tried to figure out what exactly had crashed into her.

"Oh my goodness, I am so sorry!" A soft voice said, and Nico looked upwards to see the person who committed the crime of practically assaulting her.

And instantly alarm bells went off in her head… or maybe wedding bells… Nico wasn't sure.

This girl was drop dead gorgeous. She had long, silky, beautiful golden hair and bright, baby blue eyes that looked down at Nico, full of worry. Her teeth were practically shining a brilliant white, and Nico swore that it actually made her eyes sting for a few moments.

Putting her idol skills to the test, Nico wore a fake smile as she reached out her hand.

"It's fine. Can you just help me up?" The girl nodded frantically.

"Of course, of course, oh this is my fault…" The girl rambled. To Nico's surprise, the girl was actually quite strong, and lifted her up with ease.

Finally standing firm on her own two feet, Nico brushed herself off. Once she was finished, she quickly recollected herself.

"Sorry about that, I should pay more attention." Nico admitted, to which the girl shook her head to.

"No, it's my fault, kind of bad for a first impression." The girl admitted, and Nico surprised herself when she laughed lightly.

"Don't worry about it. Anyways, I need to get to class. See you around." Nico dismissed, leaving the situation in the past as she headed off towards her classroom.

The girl stood for a few moments before Nico heard her call after herself. "Just so you know, my name is Takada Sakura; it's a pleasure to meet you." This stopped Nico in her tracks, and she couldn't help herself from turning around to face the girl once again.

"My name's Yazawa Nico, pleasure to meet you Takada." Nico replied.

"Just call me Sakura." Sakura said happily, to which Nico nodded in response.

"Okay, then call me Nico." The girl nodded as well, and headed off towards her own classroom, wherever it was.

 _Okay who the hell was that?_ Even though the girl seemed nice enough, and Nico had even indulged in a sincere conversation with her, for some reason she was feeling more ticked off then she was before. And that was quite a statement.

Finally arriving at her classroom, she joined her two friends in their conversation… Well, more like she barged into it.

"Hey guys, do you know a girl named Takada Sakura? She just ran me over a few moments ago in the hall!" Nico complained bitterly, still feeling a little sore.

Eli and Nozomi looked at each other, and Nico watched them think for a few moments before Eli clapped her hands together.

"Oh wait, that's the new girl! I should know I'm the student council president." Eli said the last part with a proud tone, but Nico had blocked it out.

 _That's the new girl? That's the girl Maki has a CRUSH on?_ Nico's anger washed away from her body as she was filled with a familiar emotion; the one when first realized that Maki possibly had a crush on somebody.

What did that girl have that Nico didn't have anyways? She wasn't so great. There are millions of blondes in the world, it's not like they're _all_ unique. And sure, she was taller than Nico, but what did height have to do with anything?

Sure the girl was probably rich, but Nico had placed her bets that she didn't have to work for anything. Nico was a hard worker; she did things efficiently and usually came out with good results…Right?

"Sakura," Nico heard herself growl very quietly, the name leaving a bad taste in her mouth. That girl had been so innocent. Maybe she had crashed into Nico on purpose. It was probably some kind of means of marking her territory, claiming Maki for herself.

 _Ah hell no!_

"Nicocchi, are you even listening?" Nozomi said, a thoughtful look on her face as Nico watched the girl identify herself.

Nico waved her hands around frantically. "No, no, no I'm fine. Yeah, totally fine…" Nico ended up trailing off, hoping that class would start soon.

A sly smile found its way onto Nozomi's face as she reached out her arms menacingly. "Maybe I'll just have to make you listen, eh?" Her hands began clenching and unclenching as Nico realized her breasts were the new target.

"Stay back foul beast!" Nico cried out, prepared to defend her life until thankfully class began. Nico ran to her desk, and she couldn't help but hear Nozomi complain sadly to Eli who laughed.

 _What's so great about Sakura?_ Nico thought as she couldn't help but watch Maki yet again through practice. The girl was much more in sync with the others compared to yesterday, but she still seemed a little distracted.

Nico had tried to initiate a conversation with Maki earlier, but to no avail. The girl completely shut her off, and this pissed Nico off.

At least she had Hanayo and Rin. It seemed like they could tell Nico was being bothered by whatever was happening with Maki. Hopefully they didn't assume that Nico had a crush on Maki, because that was definitely **not** what was happening.

Nico was just looking out for Maki. The perfect girls always have some deep, dark secret. Who knows, she might just be a masochist **(#1)**.

So detective Nico was on the case, and with her sidekicks 'The Quiet One' and 'The Meow-Meow', she would solve the case of Takado Sakura.

Rin had come up with the nicknames, not Nico.

Normally she would have Eli and Nozomi help her out, but Hanayo and Rin had presented themselves on a silver platter. Plus, it would be good to do some bonding with the first years, and they did know Maki pretty well.

As soon as practice had ended, Maki had rushed right out of the school before Nico could even say anything.

She stomped her foot on the ground in annoyance, growling slightly. Maki was so damn annoying; Nico hadn't even done anything wrong.

Everyone was gone yet again, instead of Hanayo and Rin of course.

"Don't worry about it Nico, Maki had been avoiding us to." Nico barely missed Hanayo's soft voice, and turned to see the girl with a puzzled look on her face.

"She must really like the new girl nya." Rin added. In response Nico slammed her foot against the ground once again.

"Sakura," Nico meant to say that under her breath, but it came out pretty loud. Hanayo looked at Rin, who shrugged.

Nico watched as Hanayo focused her attention on herself. "Nico, were not really sure what's going on between you and Maki, and Maki and Sakura too of course. But were not here to ask questions, were here to help you out. So whatever you need, we'll be there for you." Hanayo smiled, finishing her speech without stuttering once. Nico was astounded, and she could tell Rin was too.

"H-hanayo…" Ha, this time Nico was the one stuttering.

Out of the corner of her eye, Nico saw that Rin was itching to say something too, her regular grin plastered on her face.

Before Nico knew it, Rin had leaped at her, encasing the girl in a hug.

"Nya, Rin will definitely help Nico too if Hanayo is!" Rin cheered.

Nico couldn't help but smiling widely. The other girls probably had never seen her like this, so she quickly kept her emotions in check and shoved Rin off of herself.

Turning her back to the first years, she huffed.

"Whatever! This is going to be tough stuff, you know! So you better get your butt in gear because once we start were not finishing!" Nico said loudly, her voice held a sort of leadership and screamed coolness.

"Nya, this is so cool!" Rin said, filled with energy as Hanayo nodded along.

"Yes it is and I am actually p-pretty excited." Hanayo returned back to her usual shyness, which made Nico smile. Thankfully the two couldn't see her smile, but she could hear them giggling behind her back. Maybe they just knew anyways.

Turning to the two, Nico held a sharp look in her eyes as she pointed at the two. "Stop giggling, we have work to do! Operation: 'Who is Sakura Takada?' is under way!" The third year struck a triumphant pose as the first years posed behind her. They even looked like an epic trio.

"Uh…I just forgot my backpack. I'll be out soon." Nico hadn't even noticed Umi, who awkwardly walked in as the trio still held their pose. Once she had grabbed her backpack, she quickly dashed away from the scene.

The group of three sat down at a fast food restaurant, eating some hamburgers as they plotted what exactly they were going to do.

Well, most of the thinking came from Hanayo and Nico. Rin was just devouring her food.

"Okay, so we need to figure out the key points of this operation. We know that Sakura is in your class, correct?" Nico asked Hanayo, who nodded in response. "Okay Rin write that down."

Rin's hand stopped, holding a French fry that was dangling just in front of her mouth. Nico watched as the girl dropped the item, her greasy hands grabbing a pen and scribbling down what was just said.

"R-rin, I can do that writing if you want." Hanayo offered, but Rin just shook her head, sticking up a thumb.

"I got this nya!" Then she was back to her meal.

Rolling her eyes, Nico continued. "Okay, so do you guys know where she transferred from?" Hanayo shook her head; Rin was indulged in her food. _Useless_ Nico thought as her eyes watched Rin suck in her food like a vacuum. "Okay Rin, write that down and put a question mark next to it." The scribbling of pen on paper could be heard as Hanayo spoke up.

"Sakura seems to talk to Maki quite often, usually during the morning and lunch." Nico grunted in annoyance.

"Rin," more scribbling and Hanayo continued.

"I think she if fairly rich, because she is always dropped off in this fancy car and escorted into the building." Hanayo remembered, holding her chin in thought.

Nico's mouth dropped.

"Wow, she's freaking rich. Rin put down: 'Lots of money'."

"Okay nya." Nico took a bite of her own burger as Hanayo continued thinking.

Sighing in defeat, Hanayo focused her attention on Nico. "Sorry, I think that's all I know about her." Hanayo admitted.

"Nah, that's fine. Any information is good at this point." Nico replied which seemed to make Hanayo feel a little better.

"Look nya! I did a sketch of her, so we won't forget what she looks like!" Rin announced eagerly, showing the stick drawing of the girl. Since it was all in blue pen, Nico could barely distinguish that it was Sakura. She probably wouldn't have known if Rin hadn't told her.

"Rin just stick to writing." Nico commented dryly as the girl visibly deflated.

"It's alright Rin, at least you tried." Hanayo smiled, and Rin's spirits uplifted slightly. Feeling better, Rin faced Nico, saluting to her.

"Nya, Captain! What is the first move we will be making in regards to Miss Takado?" Rin said in a serious tone, causing Hanayo to giggle.

Nico thought for a few moments, she wasn't so sure herself actually. After a few moments of thought, she slammed her fist onto the table, startling Hanayo.

"Eureka." This had become Nico's new favorite word after Hanayo had said it.

"What is it?" Rin asked food still in her mouth.

Though Rin's loud chewing was slightly disturbing, Nico spoke.

"We need to do what all the detectives do: a good old fashioned stake out!" Nico decided. Rin cheered loudly, clearly excited by the thought, but Nico could tell that Hanayo wasn't so sure.

"Nico, she uses a car to get to school, how exactly are we going to follow her home?" Hanayo asked.

Now this stopped Nico dead in her mental tracks. What exactly was she planning to do anyways? And why was this so damn important to her as well?

Breathing in and out, Nico cooled her thoughts as she thought about what exactly they were going to do.

Another slam on the desk

"I got it guys. Grab your money because we're heading out!"

 **AN: Totally forgot about the disclaimer in the last chapter. So:**

 **DISCLAIMER: I DO NOT OWN ANYTHING INVOLVING THE ANIME "LOVE LIVE"**

 **Haha, funny funny funny.**

 **Anyways I hope you liked this chapter. Don't be afraid to write a review, and follows and favorites are very much appreciated. You just met Miss Perfect, Sakura, in this chapter.! Also, as you can see Hanayo and Rin will be in this story quite a bit :P! I was going to have Eli and Nozomi a lot more involved, but I just thought Hanayo and Rin would fit the dynamic better and they play off one another really well. I also fucking love Rin! A lot! So I'm excited for there little trio actually.**

 **Shit I forgot what I was going to say... whatever. Just know that there will still be NozomixEli and UmixKotori, since it is a significant part of the plot**

 **REVIEW CORNER YO**

 **1\. zurui yo**

 _You had me at the summary! I guess that makes me a huge masochist, but I love when my favorite characters are faced with cold, hard conflict. And it seems Maki's crush on this random new girl is legitimate. I can't wait to see how Nico will win Maki over!_

 **Yo, Zurui! Didja see my play on words there? Anyways thanks for being my first ever reviewer and giving this story a chance. As you can see by the marked (1#) I used your word masochist lol. I was hoping you would tell. Anyways I hope you continue to read this story!**

 **2\. Nahoma**

 _A great 1st chapter but you have a lot of grammatical mistakes but regardless it is a good story I hope you update soon_

 **Haha, sorry about the grammar the last chapter. I was writing it at like 12 so my brain wasn't in complete functionality. They're may be a few more grammar errors, but I'll count on you to catch them all ;P. Thanks so much for reading and don't be afraid to drop another comment.**

 **3\. Dash24zappshift**

 _This seems a nice start :3. I can't wait for the next one xD_

 **Hey Dash! Thanks for the complement, I def love a little inflation of my ego :P. Hopefully you didn't wait for this one that long, and double hoping that you still like it.**

 **4\. Sweatpants - Love that name**

 _Sounds good so far, some mistakes, but nothing too critical. I also very much hate overpowered insert character stories (or just plain insert stories to begin with) so you better stick to your word and make this one of the good ones, lmao jk but please continue_

 **Loving that name, Sweatpants. Yeah sorry about those mistakes, I'll try to clean up a bit. Dude, thanks for sharing in my pain though! Insert stories usually suck so much! There are those rare really good ones, but they're hard to find! Anyways, if you want to read one just for the sake of hating it, I recommend one I read about Fairy Tail. You don't even have to like the anime. It's like where some forgotten little sister shows up with fucking overpowered grass powers or something and everyone has a crush on her. Like wtf? But it's amazing, and if you want to see it I'd be glad to tell you the name.**

 **Anyways guys, even if you didn't review, every single follow and favorite is greatly appreciated! Thank you so much for almost already 200 views! That's crazy! So please don't be afraid to drop a review and follow/favorite, it would be greatly appreciated.**

 **I also have a few questions for you guys.**

 **1\. How long should each chapter be? I would like to stick to your preferences**

 **2\. How often should I try to update?**

 **3\. Why does Rin say nya? (lol jk)** **4\. Are these Author Note things too long? I also feel like I talk way too much.** **5\. Oh, and tell me if you aren't okay with me posting your review. I will gladly apologise and not post it on her. But I would still like to reply to it if that's okay :D**


	3. Chapter 3

Nico tapped a pencil anxiously against the desk as she waited for school to end. The plan would involve the trio missing practice, and even thought Nico _really_ didn't want to do that, it was worth the sacrifice.

She clutched the small plastic helicopter in one hand and the remote control in the other. The plan was simple, attach a small camera to the helicopter, and put it in Sakura's handbag without her knowing.

Getting anxious, Nico watched the clock tick slowly as it was merely moments before school would end. She didn't want to blink because she didn't want to miss it.

But she did end up blinking.

And she did end up missing it.

Moving as swiftly as she could, Nico dashed out of the classroom at light speed and raced outside. Thankfully Hanayo and Rin were already positioned where they were supposed to be, standing outside of the school.

Running towards the duo, she held out the helicopter to her right and went to run past them.

Quickly Rin snatched the helicopter out of her hand and Nico dashed away. Everything was going to according to plan.

She hid behind a nearby tree as she watched the event unfold. The first years approached Sakura as she walked out of the building. Rin eagerly struck up a conversation and instantly got Sakura involved as she was making big motions with her hands as she talked. Behind them, all Hanayo had to do was slip the helicopter into the bag.

But Hanayo just stood there.

She was practically frozen, and Nico could tell that Rin was getting slightly worried as Hanayo wasn't fulfilling her part of the plan.

"Hanayo you freaking wimp what are you doing?" Nico knew the girl couldn't hear her, but she hoped by some grace of God that Hanayo would do her part.

Nico watched as Rin tried to keep the conversation up, but it was clearly dying.

Thankfully, Hanayo snapped back into reality and swiftly dropped the helicopter into the handbag.

Nico and Rin sighed in relief simultaneously. Rin waved goodbye to Sakura as Hanayo followed behind her, and Nico watched as a short man in a suit and tie opened the door to a fancy looking car for Sakura. He took her bag and placed it into the trunk before they drove off.

After Sakura was out of sight, Rin and Hanayo dashed over to Nico.

"Okay guys let's hurry before we get caught!" Nico explained, grabbing the first year's hands as she sprinted, dragging them along with her.

"I really n-need to get into better shape." Hanayo said as Nico decided the best place to go was the fast food place.

"Wow nya. It takes a while to get to her house." Rin commented as the girls settled in a booth, huddled around Nico's laptop. All they could see was a few things in the girl's handbag of course, but doing a kind of spy mission was still really cool.

Nico clutched the remote in her hand, waiting for the perfect opportunity to exit Sakura's handbag. She feared that the helicopter would make a lot of noise but she would just have to risk it.

"Oh I think we're there." Hanayo said as the handbag moved around. Items like lip gloss and mirrors swished around the bag as the view began to get rather blocked.

"Should I fly out now or wait till we're in the house?" Nico asked her companions.

"Fly out. We n-need to get their address. Of course it may p-prove hard getting back in." Hanayo decided, and Nico nodded in agreement as she pressed a few buttons on the helicopter.

Swiftly the plastic toy flew out of Sakura's handbag. Thankfully the girl didn't notice as the small helicopter flew up into the air.

"No wonder she didn't notice nya. She has headphones in." Rin pointed out, and Nico noticed the small earbuds that were probably blasting music.

Since the camera was so cheap, they could only see out of it. They couldn't hear anything, so they would have to guess what people were saying or listening to.

Flying around, Nico looked at the big house. It was huge; it was twice the size of Maki's mansion and had a beautiful garden just beyond it.

"Rin, cross out 'Lots of money' and write 'Crap ton of money'. Oh and write down the address as well please." Rin hummed in response as she scribbled down what Nico said.

After getting a good enough scope of the house, Nico decided that entering might be a good idea. Assuming that the inside was going to look just as fancy as the outside, her standards were set pretty high.

The butler-that's what Nico decided to refer to him as for simplicity-opened the door for Sakura who nodded at him. Nico had no idea how to get in; if she flew right in the butler would see her instantly.

"What do I do?" Nico asked frantically. Out of the blue Rin swiftly grabbed the controller from Nico and headed the cheap helicopter for the door.

"It's called: 'all or nothing' nya!" Rin yelled, gathering a few weird looks from the customers around her, but Nico noticed the first year payed no mind as she watched the screen attentively.

"Rin you moron, we're going to get caught." Nico tried to grab the remote back, but Rin had her mind set as Hanayo watched quizzically from the sidelines.

Somehow the helicopter was able to fly into the house without the man noticing and Rin quickly had it follow Sakura.

Nico used this opportunity to see as much as she could out of the cheap little camera.

"Hanayo, you're on notebook duty! Write: 'extremely big house' and 'lots of expensive furniture'." Nico called to the girl who snapped back into reality and nodded in response.

"O-okay!" was the response as Hanayo quickly grabbed the notebook and began scribbling down what Nico had said.

Rin and Nico watched the laptop screen as the little plastic toy followed Sakura up a flight of stairs to a second level of the mansion.

"Two levels Hanayo…No scratch that three." Nico said the last part in awe as she looked at the beauty of the absurdly large home. Nico would kill to have her family live in a place like that. Sakura probably just had rich parents who inherited some kind of worldwide business.

Nico scoffed at her own thoughts, which obviously didn't go unnoticed by the first years, but they just ignored it and continued their duties.

"Okay, I think she's entering her room nya." Rin said excitedly as Sakura opened the door to one of the rooms.

"Good work. Follow in right after her. Hanayo jot down that her room is on the third floor." Nico ordered as Hanayo shook her head.

"I f-feel like we are stalking this poor girl Nico." Hanayo admitted, but did as Nico asked.

Nico laughed bitterly. "Hanayo, she is certainly not poor. And that's fact at this point." Hanayo shrugged and Nico watched her digest the thought, but turned her attention back to the screen.

Rin had parked the helicopter on a high shelf within the extremely large bedroom.

"My bedroom is barely a quarter of the size of this one nya." Rin commented. Nico's jaw dropped as she looked at the large bedroom.

It was cliché that the room was doused in pink and other bright, girly colors. The bed was huge; Nico assumed that it was at least a queen sized bed. There was an array of cosmetics sitting on a desk in the corner of the room with a large mirror hanging on the wall. Directly across from the overly large bed was a large flat screen television.

What intrigued Nico the most was a small remote with a red button sitting on one of the pillows on the bed.

"Okay, is this good enough Nico?" Rin asked to which Nico merely nodded to in response.

"Just shush Rin; we need to find all the data we can." Nico explained. Rin opened her mouth to speak, but Nico stuck a finger up to her lips. Rin nodded, did a silent salute, and focused her energy onto the small laptop screen.

Sakura dropped her handbag onto the floor and walked over to her bed. She sat on it, sinking slightly into the obviously comfy mattress. Nico watched with curious eyes as Sakura grabbed the remote control and pressed the red button.

"Stewart, I'll have one cup of iced tea. Please have it ready for me in the garden." Nico's mouth dropped as the butler, now identified as Stewart, replied with a yes through a speaker on the back of the remote.

"That's crazy." Nico muttered to herself as she looked at the device. "Hanayo scratch out 'Crap ton of money' and write 'So rich they could murder someone without anybody knowing'." This caused Hanayo to gulp, but she did was the third year said.

Rin couldn't help but add something. "Also write: 'Insanely powerful remote that can control minds across the galaxy—."

"Rin, I get to do the talking, you just point stuff out." Nico interrupted. Rin's demeanor sagged slightly as she pouted.

"Yes Captain." Hanayo tried to comfort the poor girl, but to no avail.

Nico looked at Rin, and actually felt… _bad._ She was hanging out way too much with the first years.

Sighing in annoyance, Nico turned to Hanayo. "Hanayo write down what Rin just said please." Hanayo smiled eagerly and scribbled down what Nico said.

But Rin was a **little** different.

She slowly turned her head to Nico, her mouth wide open as she began to make an "Aw" sound. It slowly escalated and got louder and louder as neither Nico nor Hanayo knew what exactly was happening.

"Uh… Rin what are you—."

"Thank you Nico-chan!" Rin cheered loudly and happily, wrapping her hands around the unsuspecting third year who groaned. Nico heard Hanayo gigging from where she sat and shot a dirty glare at her. Surprisingly, Hanayo just kept laughing.

"G-get off of me Rin, we're on a job here you know!" Nico shouted, shoving the first year back in her spot, her eyes intently looking at the screen.

But what she saw on the screen scared the living crap out of her.

Sakura's faced was shoved up extremely close to the camera, and obviously she had found the helicopter because as soon as it happened Nico immediately grabbed the remote from Rin and tried to fly the plastic toy away.

"Ah! She's so creepy!" Nico yelped as Sakura examined the small helicopter. Nico heard Hanayo scribbling down something. "Don't write that down!"

"Nico escape! She's going to kill us all nya!" Rin once again swiped the remote from Nico's grip and began mashing buttons in an attempt to free the helicopter from Sakura. But no matter what Rin did, Nico knew there was no escape from this demon.

"Okay guys, I think we got enough info. We just need to hide the fact that we planted the helicopter on her." Nico explained, slamming the laptop shut. Hanayo nodded frantically in agreement while Rin pouted.

"That was fun. And that helicopter cost a lot of money; why did Hanayo and I have to pay for it nya?" Rin asked Nico.

"Uh…Well because you're first years and I'm a third year, of course!" Nico tried to come up with the best explanation for not chipping in. She didn't really have that much money to spare at the moment.

She watched Rin ponder the crappy lie for a few moments.

"I guess that makes sense nya." Rin replied and it almost made Nico want to face palm.

"Nico, is this good enough for you?" Hanayo said snapping Nico back into what was happening. Hanayo held out the notepad to Nico.

Grabbing the notes, Nico read them over to see just how much information they had gathered on Takado Sakura. She tried to ignore Rin's giant stickman drawing and focused on what Hanayo wrote down. Her writing was much neater then Meow-Meow's. Who is Rin…Nico decided not to use Rin's nicknames at all.

Slipping her laptop into her backpack, Nico sat up from the booth. "Alright guys, we got some more brainstorming to do. Meet up here after practice tomorrow." Her two companions nodded happily.

"W-wait, Nico, what are we going to do about Eli and Umi? They p-probably won't be too happy with us since we missed practice." Hanayo reminded, shuddering slightly.

"Ugh, that's a good point." Nice admitted, thinking of a way they could get out of the situation they were in.

Rin's obnoxious laughter broke her train of thought.

"Don't even worry about it nya." Rin said, shaking her head. "Rin's got this one!" Her new trademark thumbs up appeared as she grinned confidently.

Nico shrugged; at least she wouldn't have to deal with it now. "Alright Rin, you got it. I better get going, see you guys." Nico waved goodbye as she headed for the exit.

"Bye Nico!"

"Have an s-safe walk home Nico!" Those two were starting to become more and more fun to hang out with Nico noticed.

She chuckled lightly to herself.

 _And they're just a pair of first years._

Nico felt like an idiot.

In review, she and Hanayo had left it to Rin to come up with an excuse to get them out of their sticky situation. The three approached the roof together so at least they would have some support.

When they arrived everybody stared at them. Nico felt a little uncomfortable, but of course didn't let it show and just smirked. Rin was as confident with her plan as ever, but poor Hanayo was shaking like crazy.

"Hey guys, sorry about yesterday." Nico apologized, bowing to the group. Hopefully they would feed right into it.

Now it was Hanayo's turn to speak. But it was the plastic helicopter situation all over again.

The girl just froze. She didn't say anything; she was just looking off into space as her shaking stopped completely. It was as if she wasn't even there anymore, and Nico began to get a little nervous.

Trying to bring her back to reality, Nico lightly kicked Hanayo's foot, who thankfully snapped back.

"Uh…I-I am s-so v-v-very sorry a-about m-m-missing p-p-practice." Though Hanayo was stuttering like a fool, she was able to squeak out her line and robotically bow down. Nico mentally face palmed at the display, but was thankful that it was over with.

Now it was Rin's turn to carry it for the team.

"Right, nya, we're really sorry about missing practice yesterday. But something really awful happened to Nico!" Rin lied straight though her teeth as Nico's eyes wide. _Oh great._

"Oh yeah," Eli said in a scary tone. "And what exactly happened to _Nico_ Rin?" Nico was deadly afraid that Rin would back down, but the girl just kept on blabbering.

"Well, we were all heading up to practice right? And then Nico was like 'wow guys it's pretty slippery' and Kayo-chin and I agreed with her nya. We assumed that the floor was recently washed, so as we walked up the stairs Nico slipped!" Rin then gasped as if to add to the drama, and surprisingly Hanayo did too. It was as if she believed what Rin was saying even though it wasn't true at all. "She tumbled down the stairs and Kayo-chin and I quickly raced down after her. Thankfully she wasn't harmed too much nya, but she had an awful headache!" As if to emphasize the point, Rin clutched her head. "Oh it was awful! And of course Kayo-chin and I didn't want to leave her alone so we walked her home. It was such a sad moment nya." Rin ended the part very emotionally, and Nico could've sworn she heard light sobbing coming from Hanayo.

 _These two are A-class idiots_ Nico thought as she rolled her eyes. She could tell all of μ's was looking at them funny, so she tried to save it.

"Rin's over exaggerating. I just got a mild headache and the two were kind enough to walk me home. Can we just start practice?" Nico pleaded, hoping that she had appeased to them.

All of the girls looked at each other. Honoka shrugged.

"Sure, at least you are here now. Just try not to miss another practice please; Love Live is coming up pretty soon." Honoka smiled and Nico thanked God for Honoka's kind spirit.

"Thank you." The trio dropped off their things and joined the practice. People still eyed them warily, but Nico tried not to pay attention as she tried to catch up with anything she missed the previous day. Thankfully they were able to get through the practice and things went well.

After practice the group of three grabbed their stuff together, chatting away mindlessly.

"That practice was rough nya. Umi really got after us." Rin pouted. Hanayo nodded in agreement.

"Y-yeah, she was pretty scary."

"Well, all that matters is that we got through it." Nico finished and the two first years hummed along with her.

"Nicocchi!" a familiar voice called out. Nico turned to see Eli and Nozomi approaching. "We feel like we haven't seen a lot of you lately." Nozomi said.

"I agree; you've been zipping in and out of class recently. What's up?" Eli added.

Nico probably should've expected that something like this would happen sooner or later. But she was just too busy with the whole Sakura thing and dealing with Hanayo and Rin that her best friends totally slipped her mind.

"Sorry guys, I have just been super busy lately. You know idol stuff. I need to keep up my appearance." Nico struck a valiant pose, awkwardly chuckling as the two looked at her questioningly.

"What's up Nicochhi?" Nozomi asked more directly this time, her hands once again opening up and curling. "Or are we just going to have to force it out of you?" Her tone became playful as Eli shook her head.

Nico took a step back as Nozomi threatened to move inward. _I'm freaking screwed!_

"Oh, s-sorry Nozomi, we just have been borrowing Nico f-for a while. We're d-doing a study on p-people with lots o-of dedication and focus on t-their dream. We thought N-Nico would be perfect." Hanayo lied perfectly, in Nico's opinion, even though she stuttered a few times. That was normal for Hanayo.

Smiling in relief Nico nodded along with her.

"But wouldn't Maki be working on this project too? She is in the same class." Eli questioned further. Hanayo froze at this question, not expecting something else to be thrown at her.

"It's not for school nya." Rin butt into the conversation, saving Nico and Hanayo. "I just thought it would be interesting nya. Kayo-chin and I haven't got a lot to do lately besides school and μ's so we thought it could be fun." Rin explained happily.

The third years looked at the trio for a few moments before Eli shrugged.

"Whatever you guys say I suppose. Well we're off, see you later!" Eli bid farewell as she walked into the school. Nozomi smiled at her friend as she shook her head.

"Oh Elicchi, I didn't know you were this dense. Good luck with your 'work'." Nozomi smiled cheekily, heading in after Eli.

At long last the group of three sighed relief. That had been tough, especially coming from Eli and Nozomi.

"Thanks you guys, you totally saved me." Nico admitted. She could see that Hanayo was still shuddering from the event that just occurred, but Rin just stuck up a thumb.

"Don't worry about it Nico! You are our Captain! And the crew looks out for each other nya." Rin grinned as Hanayo giggled.

"I a-agree. Nico is our Captain." And for once, Hanayo saluted to Nico who was dumbfounded.

 _What a pair of goofs. They're clowns, and goofs, and definitely idiots. But I guess… They're my crew._ Nico was surprised on how she took such pride in the first years.

She heard the pair giggling as Nico quickly gave her head a good shake and turned her back to them. "Anyways, back to the plan! Maki is top priority here, and now that we have learned quite a bit about Sakura, we need to see how much Maki really…likes her." Nico said the last two words with disgust. The two girls behind her sounded in agreement as they marched down the stairs.

Yes, it was time to shake Maki back into reality. That Sakura girl was nothing in comparison to Nico. You didn't need money or a pretty face to win over someone. You just needed a good heart; a determined heart. And Nico was certain she had that.

"Hey, Nico," Hanayo's voice snapped Nico back to reality.

"Yes Hanayo?"

"I-If you don't m-mind me asking, why e-exactly do you n-not want S-Sakura to end up with Maki?" Hanayo definitely just shot the elephant in the room.

The question seemed to surprise Rin as well for she looked at Hanayo with a startled expression. But it also intrigued the cat girl, who also turned her attention to Nico.

Nico pondered the question herself. Why does this rile her up so much? Nico wasn't so sure herself, but it just didn't seem…right. She tried to think of a way to explain it.

Before Nico knew it, the trio were outside. She looked up at the clear blue sky and thought for a few moments.

"You guys know that Eli and Nozomi are really great friends right?" Nico asked. The first years nodded, it was pretty obvious. "Well, just think. What would Eli do if somebody wanted to take Nozomi away?" The question caused the pair to think for a few moments. They seemed to digest what exactly was going on with Nico.

Turning to the young girls, Nico wore a tired, confused, angry, happy, and incomplete look on her face. That was the only way to describe it.

"She would do whatever she could to get her back." Smiling bitterly, Nico turned her attention away from the two and began the walk to the fast food restaurant.

The two girls finally understood what was going on, and Nico was afraid that they wouldn't help her anymore, but to her surprise the two girls ran up to her; Hanayo grabbing her left hand, Rin grabbing her right.

"Nico, don't you remember what Hanayo said at the very beginning of all of this, nya?" Rin asked. Nico tried to think back to what exactly happened, but Hanayo cut her thoughts off.

" **Nico, we're not really sure what's going on between you and Maki, and Maki and Sakura too of course. But we're not here to ask questions, we're here to help you out. So whatever you need, we'll be there for you."**

Nico began to cry.

 **Hey guys! I hope you liked that chapter. It was origianally going to be two seperate ones but I just added them together. Hope you like the whole NicoRinPana thing going on :D**

 **Review Corner Yo!**

 **(Just saying, the Review corner is a little long. So feel free to skip :D. I've decided not to post the comments right on here so it doens't seem like there's way more about the story then there really is)**

 **1\. Rakik**

 **I don't blame you for being skeptic, but that's kind of the gimmick of a self inserted Mary Sue. They usually miraculously have everyone fall in love with them in like two words, not dependent on personality, so I was hoping that that's how it would come across. Even though it is very strange for Maki, i'll agree. But I'm good that Nico reeled you back in. Personally I love writing Nico as a character, especially with the whole NicoRinPana. I hope Nico kicks Sakura's ass too, though I don't know how that'll turn out. XD. You don't need to thank me for anything, I should be thanking you for giving this story a chance. I will try my best to do daily updates, but that might be a little hard if the chapters need to be long too. So I'll either do shorter chapters daily or longer chapters every second day. I'm not really sure, I'll figure it out :P**

 **2\. Aveo Her**

 **Oh cool, glad that you got too read two chappies off the bat! Hopefully it was a good introduction for you into the story. Hopefully you didn't have to wait too long for this chapter. :D**

 **3\. IHasRainbows (Is this a play on IHasCupquake maybe?)**

 **Actually when I first planned out this story, well "planned", I was barely going to have Rin or Hanayo in it. Originally I was going to have Eli and Umi help out Nico, which is probably still going to happen, I just thought having the dynamic duo would be easier and more fun to write with. Glad you love it!**

 **4\. NicoNicoNii17**

 **I'm really sorry. I don't speak Spanish so I'm exactly sure what you're saying, but I Google Translated it (which isn't all that reliable) and this is how it came out:**

 _Nooo no one can interupt the following nicomaki uu Sakura plan to wipe out! For some reason the staff take very irritated just thinking I can not be nnnnnnnn ahh mmmmmm this interesting fight hope the next single I_

 **I can kind of see what you're saying lol. I know, Sakura is as annoying as fuck, and I'm glad to see that you are so into it. Hope this lives up to your expectations and continue reading :)**

 **5\. Nahoma**

 **Yeah sorry about that. I just get mixed up a bit and I promise I'll try not to make a rookie mistake like that again. I'm okay with you being a grammar nazi, at least you're a nice one. Thanks a ton for answering the questions, and don't be afraid to make long comments.**

 **6\. Sweatpants**

 **NicoRinPana is my life right now. Just saying. Thanks for answering the questions, I take all feedback into great consideration. If you're interested in the story, here it is:** **Natures Princess by** Funaho Misaki. **It's not complete BTW, but it's still a funny read. But it is Yuri.**

 **7\. Jenkist**

 **This comment really made me smile. Thanks a lot for that, really uplifted my day :). Hope you like this chapter as well.**

 **8\. yzyr**

 **I'm awesome that you share in my love of NicoRinPana. I actually didn't even like it that much until I started writng this story, and it opened me up to a beautiful world :D. Thanks for the luck, I'll need it, and I hope you have a great day as well Reader :P :D**

 ****


	4. Chapter 4

Nico slammed her head against the table. Rin's chewing was becoming obnoxiously loud as Hanayo tried to tell her to stop in the most polite way possible.

"R-rin…I think you…You know…Um…"

"What's up Hanayo? Cat got your tongue nya?" Rin giggled at her own little joke.

"Guys focus!" Nico raised her voice, startling the fist years. "We need to figure out phase two of the operation, I hope you guys haven't forgotten." Nico said the last part in a scary tone as the pair shook their heads frantically.

"No of course not Captain nya!"

"O-Of course not Captain N-Nico!"

"Good, good." Nico said as she retained the attention of the first years. "So now we have to figure out what's going on with Maki. She's still avoiding me since that whole situation, but she can't still be upset with you two." Nico assumed, in which the two replied with a nod.

"Yeah, Maki's fine nya…Though she does look at Sakura a lot during class." Rin remembered.

"A-And we believe t-that Sakura m-may actually like Maki, t-though not as much as M-Maki likes her." Hanayo added causing Nico's demeanor to shrink.

 _So she really does like this girl huh._ Nico felt like crap. Why did this new girl have to transfer anyways? What does dating Maki do for her? Can't she see she's stepping on someone else's ground?

But looking at Rin and Hanayo she realized something.

"I'm freaking Yazawa Nico and I don't ever give up!" Nico yelled out, clearly gaining attention from the people around them. But she didn't care, Maki was hers. And everybody knew that. "So are you ready or what?" She said loudly, questioning her allies.

"Yep!" the duo said simultaneously. Nico nodded in satisfaction.

"Okay, then let's brainstorm! And Rin stop chewing so loud!"

The plan was in action. Nico knew that practice would be ending soon and her eyes met with her partners in crime. This was hopefully going to be more successful in comparison to the whole helicopter thing with Sakura.

"All right, good practice everyone." Eli said to all the girls who were heaving loudly, pretty exhausted. "With this much effort we'll do great by the time Love Live is here!" Nico heard Honoka cheer in the background, but ignored her as she approached Maki.

"Hey Maki," Nico called out to the girl, who turned around at Nico.

"What do you want Nico? I'm not really in the mood." Maki responded coldly, causing Nico to flinch slightly before she recollected herself.

Grabbing Maki's wrist, she stopped the girl. "Listen, I apologize for the whole 'crush' thing. I shouldn't have joked about it, and I want to make it up to you, so Meow-Meow—." Nico quickly stopped herself. "Uh, I mean Rin and Hanayo and I were wondering if you wanted to go eat out with us?" Nico asked hopefully.

She watched as Maki thought for a few moments, before turning around to face Nico with an expression Nico hadn't seen before.

"Y-yeah, that sounds fun. Sorry about ignoring you, it just bothered me." Maki admitted, blushing slightly.

Nico internally screamed and jumped around, but externally just smiled gratefully.

"Awesome! You better hurry up; Rin and Hanayo are already waiting for us at the entrance. I don't want your slowness to rub off on me." Nico teased as Maki rolled her eyes.

"Shut up Nico."

The group of four sat down at one of the booths. Nico and Hanayo didn't order anything since they had been eating fast food for the last few days and instead brought their own food. Rin, unsurprisingly, ordered something along with Maki.

"So how's life been Maki, I feel like it's been years since we've seen one another." Nico said the last part dramatically in which Maki rolled her eyes to.

"Good, I guess. School's fine, but practice is getting tough." Maki said bitterly.

"I totally agree nya. I've been so tired lately." Rin complained as Hanayo shook her head.

"But it's important t-that we practice, right Nico?" Hanayo asked, to which Nico nodded to, striking a grand pose, taking on her alternate persona.

"When you want to become an idol like Nico-nii, you must put in lots of effort!" She grinned widely as the dynamic duo giggled and Maki rolled her eyes. As quickly as idol Nico came, she was gone. "Shut up, you guys are just jealous since you don't have as much potential as me." Nico shot as Maki rolled her eyes again.

"You have the same amount of potential as this burger I'm eating." Maki said, finishing off what was left of the hamburger. "None," The girl grinned to herself, satisfied with her response as Rin laughed loudly in the background.

Nico fumed, trying to come up with some epic insult but to no avail. Instead, she just turned her head away from Maki and pouted, causing her to laugh, which was pretty rare.

"A-Anyways, Maki we were wondering…" Nico noticed that Hanayo decided to surprisingly taking the initiative of the situation.

"What?" Maki responded in a bored tone, but Nico could tell that Hanayo had hooked her.

"Uh…W-We were just wondering a-about…Well you k-know…"

"We were wondering if you liked Sakura is all." Rin finished casually, shoving multiple fries into her mouth in delight.

The three girls sat dumbfounded at the bluntness of Rin who didn't really understand what she just said until she had swallowed her fries. Nico watched her look at each one of them before making an 'oh'.

Maki curled her fists before standing up from the table, rushing out of the fast food place.

"Crap!" Nico muttered to herself as she ran after the first year. Exiting the building she saw Maki running down one of the sidewalks and dashed after her, zig zagging between different people.

After a bit she finally caught the redhead. Running up and down those stairs proved to do some good.

"Maki!" she called out as Maki turned to face her.

"What the hell Nico? What's your problem?" Maki asked loudly, anger clear in her voice.

"What's my problem? What's yours? You avoided me for days Maki just because a stupid question that, obviously, was a joke!" Nico shouted back extremely annoyed by the outcome of the events.

Maki trembled with anger as she looked fiercely at Nico. "I apologized, okay! And you knew not to press the issue any further, but you did anyways, didn't you Nico? Why? Well because you're Yazawa damn Nico and have to save everyone's hellish lives even when they don't want your help!" Maki screamed. This hit Nico, hard.

Was Nico really like that? It wasn't like she wanted to save Maki's life; she wanted to save her own.

"I'm selfish." Nico muttered quietly to herself.

"Huh? What was that? Would you care speaking up?" Maki's annoyed tone was clear but it didn't bother Nico at all.

"I'm selfish I said, just like you!" Nico yelled, taking a step towards the first year who was startled. "I don't want to save your life at all Maki! And you, you have been real selfish these past few days! Why were you ignoring me?" Nico's voice wavered slightly at the last line. Her eyes watched as Maki's face softened.

"Nico…Ugh I hate you." Maki's voice was soft and quiet. Closing her eyes, she spoke again. "I hated those few days without you. I didn't think I would, but I did. And the only one there for me was…Sakura." _Fuck me._ "I wanted you to come to me Nico, you know me, I wouldn't come to you…But I guess you don't know me as well as I thought you did." And with that, Maki turned her back to Nico and walked down the sidewalk, slowly becoming nothing but a component of the crowd.

Nico stared after her for a few moments before she dropped to the ground in defeat. Tears came to life in her eyes as they dripped down her cheeks. Her only comfort was the steps of people walking awkwardly around her.

"Captain, are you okay?" A familiar voice asked as Nico looked up to see Rin and Hanayo looking down at her. Their eyes were filled with worry, so quickly Nico brushed the salty tears out of eyes.

"Would one of you blubbering fools help me up already?" Nico growled in a joking tone, sticking out her hand, expecting the duo to help her out.

The two looked at each other, then back at Nico, then each other once again and grinned widely.

"Aye Captain anything for you nya!" Rin spoke in an attempted pirate accent as Hanayo giggled along.

"A-Aye Captain a-anything for you!" Hanayo repeated, surprising Nico with her decent pirate accent.

The first years both grabbed her hand and pulled Nico up slowly. She knew that her eyes were probably puffy and red, but Nico didn't care. Every hero, no, every idol goes through hardships. But in the clouds there is always a silver lining.

"Okay that plan didn't go as well as originally calculated," Nico admitted, sniffling. "But, two wrongs make a right! This third plan will be a success!" Her crew cheered wildly. They were clearly happy that Nico had bounced back so quickly.

But inside, Nico hadn't really bounced back.

Switching on auto-pilot, external Nico led the duo back to the fast food place to brainstorm; internal Nico was dealing with a battle.

" _But I guess you don't know me as well as I thought you did."_ What the hell was that supposed to mean? Nico tried to decode the words within her head. Maki was the one who freaked out at her, why the hell should she be the one who approached Maki?

Maybe Nico should've known. Maki is certainly a puzzle that Nico was having an extremely rough time solving.

"Nico, Nico, Nico, Nico are you there nya?" Rin's constant shaking spiraled Nico back into reality as Nico grabbed her wrists too stop being shaken.

"I'm fine, I'm fine. What's up?" Nico asked. Somehow they had found themselves in the exact same booth as before, and Hanayo was scribbling away on the notepad.

"Kayo-chin has a plan! Isn't that spectacular nya?" Rin cheered excitedly as Nico nodded bitterly. Her other two plans were failures, and though the first one wasn't too bad, the second blew up right in her face. Maybe it was time to let the first years take over.

"Okay, what is it?" Nico asked in curiosity. Rin just shrugged and motioned to Hanayo who had finally stopped the violent writing.

"O-Okay, bear with me h-here." Hanayo started, holding up the notepad for the others to see. The complexity of it all didn't surprise Nico too much. It was Hanayo.

There was a drawing of Maki on one side, a drawing of Sakura on the other and a little chibi version of Nico at the bottom. These drawings were far better in comparison to Rin's.

Next to Maki was everything they knew about Maki, as well as all the information they had gathered about Sakura was next to her as well. Though there were a few more blanks on Sakura's side and some didn't really make much sense, yet there were still a few good facts.

There were also lines drawn between each person to assess the relationship. The line drawn from Sakura to Maki read: 'Possible Lovers' which made Nico want to puke. The line drawn from Maki to Nico read: 'Unrequited Love' which made Nico feel great about herself. And the line drawn from Nico to Sakura read: 'Love Rivals'. Hanayo was really getting into this.

"I put all the collected data onto this one page so we could review it as often as we can. It's important that we always check this over and add new data as it comes." Hanayo explained confidently. It really reminded her about how Hanayo changes when she talks about idols. "The lines represent relationships, obviously, which don't seem to be leaning in our favor at the moment. We don't know enough about the relationship between Maki and Sakura to make a perfect assessment, so I tried to make an educated guess." Nico listened attentively to what Hanayo was saying, making multiple mental notes. Rin's loud chewing didn't go unnoticed.

"So from now we need to plan about what we need to do, which is why I created the 'Love Bar' on this page." Flipping the page, Hanayo revealed a whole new group on information on Maki's likes and dislikes. Her favorite places, presents, time of year, animals, and so on and so forth. Then a large bar was drawn in the middle vertically, the top being 'Love' and the bottom being 'Not Love'. _How creative._

"Right now Nico, unfortunately, were pretty low scored on the bar at the moment." Hanayo admitted sadly, making a small mark near the bottom of the bar.

"We're that low!" Nico yelped, really getting into what Hanayo was saying.

"Unfortunately, yes. That big blow up set us down a couple notches. But it did give us some important information if you digest exactly what Maki said." Hanayo added, pointing the pen towards a whole group of information at the bottom left corner. "We know that there are low chances that Maki will confess first since she said because she said she wanted _you_ to come to _her._ Now this is great because now Sakura will probably be the one confessing to Maki, so hopefully if you get close enough to Maki, Maki will in turn reject Sakura. But this will be extremely tough." Hanayo's voice became wary near the end, filled with warning and treachery.

"Oh yes it will be." Nico nodded along.

"Chomp, chomp, these fries are so—."

"Back to the problem at hand," Nico was slightly surprised when Hanayo cut Rin off. Of course Rin probably didn't have anything interesting to say anyhow. "She also said that those few days without you were awful, so clearly she values your friendship to an extremity, and she probably didn't mean to admit that so it's good that we heard it. So take that fight almost as a second test, you will need to approach Maki sooner or later without Rin or I." Nico could hear Rin groan in the background, not wanting to miss out on the action.

"All right, so that's the plan?" Nico finished.

"Um…I-I suppose if y-you like it." And she was back.

"Yay Kayo-chin is back!" Rin cheered as she squeezed her best friend.

"R-Rin I was n-never gone!" Hanayo squeaked, waving her hands frantically.

"Crew, attention!" the slamming of Nico's fist on the table brought the duo back to the situation at hand. "We need to figure out how exactly we are going to do this." They nodded.

Nico definitely couldn't contact Maki directly. Even if she admitted she wanted Nico around, she was way too stubborn to actually let her.

"Ugh." Nico groaned, her head falling onto the table in a mixture of annoyance and tiredness. It had been a long day. It felt like the fight between her and Maki had happened hours again when it had merely been minutes.

"Rin has an idea nya!" Rin said happily causing the two to look at her warily.

"Rin the last time you had a plan everyone gave us funny looks for the whole practice." Nico reminded the first year. And Hanayo backed her up by humming agreement.

"You too Kayo-chin?" pouts came from Rin as she eyed her best friend sadly. Nico could tell Hanayo was cracking, but thankfully she held her ground.

"S-sorry Rin, Nico's got a point." Hanayo admitted, and Nico mentally danced around as Hanayo was on her side.

Rin groaned. "Give me a chance, nya! I promise it will be worth your time." Rin said the last part seriously and Nico and Hanayo exchanged glances.

Nico sighed as she turned her attention back to Rin. "Alright, I'm leaving it to you Rin." Nico admitted.

Rin grinned widely as she leaped at the older girl. "Thanks Captain! I won't let you down nya!"

Nico sat comfortably down on the bench, watching kids running around playing tag while their parents watched them from a short distance. The park seemed livelier than ever, which made Nico feel a little better. Only because if Maki freaked out it wouldn't be as bad as it would've been if they were alone.

Rin's plan was actually pretty smart. Hanayo would text Maki to meet her at the park so she and Rin could apologise, and Nico would be there instead. _Simple yet efficient, why didn't I come up with it?_

Hearing footsteps approaching, she turned to see the lady of the hour walking towards her. She had an annoyed look in her eyes as their gazes met, and Nico could feel the shivers running down her spine.

"Not happy to see me?" Nico joked, but Maki didn't really seem down for any fun at the moment.

"Nico why are you here? Is this a set up?" Maki asked coldly, looking around if she could see Hanayo or Rin.

"Yes but no. It's just me here, so you don't have to make yourself look like a weirdo." Nico commented. Maki stood for a few moments, merely looking at Nico, before taking a seat next to the third year.

"I'm not shocked you did this." Maki admitted, causing Nico to smile slightly.

"Huh, that's interesting. So did you want me to do this?" Nico replied, causing Maki to blush slightly. The redhead fidgeted nervously with the hem of the skirt she was wearing.

"M-Maybe…" Nico chuckled at Maki. "W-What is it?" Maki said in an aggressive tone as Nico just laughed louder.

"You really just don't make any sense Maki. That's probably why I screwed up earlier." Nico admitted, turning to the younger girl. "I'm sorry that I didn't pick up on what you were saying, and for saying some pretty rude things earlier. It's just hard to know what exactly you mean sometimes Maki." Gaining some confidence, Nico grabbed Maki's hand lightly and gave it a light squeeze. "You don't have to close yourself off so much." Maki's blush darkened as she averted her eyes from Nico.

"I-I…I'm not too sure why I do it myself Nico." Maki said, her voice becoming soft. "Maybe it's because my parents are never home, maybe it's because I never really had many friends growing, and maybe it's just beyond me." Looking up at the clouds Maki smiled half-hardheartedly. "I don't think I'll ever really know Nico, and I'm really sorry for what I said earlier as well. You're a really great person and I can always rely on you to be a part of my life. So can we just put this behind us?" Maki asked hopefully, looking Nico right in the eyes.

Nico internally sighed in relief. This was really all she wanted at this point.

"That really sounds great Maki." Nico smiled in return. The two girls just looked at each other for a few moments. _This is nice for a change._ "A-Anyways, that doesn't mean we can lose focus Maki!" Nico said, undoubtedly ruining the moment. She jumped from the bench and stood triumphantly on the grass. "Love Live is coming just around the corner Maki, so we need to focus! We can't be distracted by silly things like friendship and love and…Huh?" The systematic breathing coming from Maki surprised Nico as she realized the first year had fallen asleep. "Are you kidding me?"

Nico rolled her eyes as she took her seat back on the bench and scooted over to the first year, trying to check if she was really asleep or just faking it so she didn't have to listen to Nico. But with close inspection Nico realized she had really in-fact fallen asleep.

Nico then digested the close proximity between the two girls. Of course Nico definitely didn't want to do something stupid, so she prepared too scoot away until a weight fell on to her shoulder.

"Now you really have to be kidding me." Nico said softly as she looked at Maki's head lying on her shoulder. Of course Nico would have to end up in a situation like that, it was just her luck.

And she could've sworn she heard Hanayo and Rin giggling from the tree they were hiding in.

 _Never trust a pair of first years._ Nico thought to herself as she redirected her gaze back to Maki.

"But I guess this one's okay." Nico muttered quietly, looking at Maki who was peacefully sleeping.

 **AN:**

 **Okay guys, I'm starting to figure out why I'm having a rough time writing Sakura as this crazy ass overpowered self insert. And I think it's because Nico doesn't like her, and because Nico is the main character it gives Sakura the wrong angle... You feel me?**

 **Maybe I'm just having a hard time lol :P**

 **Hope you're liking the story so far! FINALLY SOME NICOMAKI AM I RIGHT? Though NicoRinPana is life goals, NicoMaki is still the intended plan and personally one of my more favorouble ships. But maybe if I feel like it I might just throw in a NicoRinPana ending because it's so amazing.**

 **Review Corner:**

 **1\. Frosslass**

 **I love NicoRinPana as well! Hanayo and Rin play off each other so extremely well and I really think that they had a lot of potential in the anime. Not saying that it wasn't met a little, but there could've been more. They are just a cute duo.**

 **2\. zurui yo**

 **Yo Zurui! Yes, IRL if I had friends like Hanayo and Rin they would definitley be my wingmen as well. Hope you got too see about of how Maki was doing the last few days and that you continue to read and review this story :)**

 **3\. Nahoma**

 **Look who its, my good old friend the grammar nazi :P. Lol just kidding, but glad to hear that I lived up to your expectations. I am trying my best to push out daily updates while still having good content in each and every chapter. I don't really believe a lot in filler chapters, so I want each and every one to influence the story in some way. Hopefully this is acceptable and there aren't too many mistakes in this chapter.**

 **4\. yzyr**

 **Yeah, sorry about Sakura not being as hatable as I promised, but hopefully that will help the story instead of being dedrimental. Literally when I was writing about Sakura crashing into Nico I wondered about having her fall in love with Nico, but then that would get a little confusing lol. Seems like a lot of people are rooting for NicoRinPana, but I will be keeping the story to a NicoMaki. Maybe after this story is done i'll write a NicoRinPana :D**

 **5\. Dash24zappshift**

 **Ha-ha I'm guessing your a My Little Pony fan. I'm no brony, but I'm no hater, so don't be afraid to express yourself lol :P i'm so lame. Happy that the friendship was real the last chapter. Anyways, this sort of has nothing to do with the story, but when I read your comment I instantly remembered this visual novel coming out called Starswirl Academy. It's a fan project and it looked pretty cool... Lol I have no idea why I'm saying this your comment just reminded me of it...**

 **Plot twist if you didn't even like My Little Pony :(.**

 **Haha, I'm lame. I'm just glad you like the story :D**

Anyways, I feel like I'm not giving enough love to the people who don't Review but Follow/Favorite. Just know that I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to just drop one of those guys because it really helps me out and gives me lots of inspiration to write more :D. And even the people who don't Follow and Favorite, just giving this story a chance is incredible and I am forever in your debts. But please, if you can, don't be afraid to write a Review or Follow/Favorite because those really make my day!


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